How Sabbaticals Can Change Your Career | DJ DiDonna

DJ DiDonna had built the kind of career many people would be reluctant to walk away from. He cofounded a growing company, built a life around work, and had every reason to keep going. But eventually, he decided to step away and take an extended break, an experience that changed how he thought about work, identity, and what comes next. In this episode, Dart and DJ explore what happens when people step away from work long enough to see their lives from a different perspective.

DJ DiDonna is a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School and the founder of The Sabbatical Project, where he researches the effects of extended time away from work. He is also the author of Big Time Off.

In this episode, Dart and DJ discuss:
- Why DJ left his “dream job”
- What makes a sabbatical different from a vacation
- Why six to eight weeks can change the experience
- How time away can change your identity
- The feeling of “being human again”
- Why people rush back into the next job
- How sabbaticals build organizational resilience
- The risk of treating burnout as a medical problem
- What companies gain when people step away
- The three ways people use a sabbatical
- How to make space for curiosity and exploration
- And other topics…

DJ DiDonna is a Senior Lecturer of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and the founder of The Sabbatical Project. Before entering academia, he cofounded EFL Global, a fintech company that developed alternative credit scoring for entrepreneurs in emerging markets. His research focuses on sabbaticals, entrepreneurship, and the ways extended time away from work can affect people and organizations. He is the author of Big Time Off: The Transformative Power of Sabbaticals and How to Take One.

Resources Mentioned:
Big Time Off: The Transformative Power of Sabbaticals and How to Take One, by DJ DiDonna
The Sabbatical Project: https://thesabbaticalproject.org/
DJ DiDonna: http://djdidonna.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/djdidonna/

Work with Dart:
Dart is the CEO and co-founder of the work design firm 11fold. Build work that makes employees feel alive, connected to their work, and focused on what’s most important to the business. Book a call at 11fold.com.